A joint venture between Le Mans 24 Hours organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and hydrogen specialist GreenGT, MissionH24 gave its LMPH2G hydrogen concept a first demonstration run at Spa in 2018, before it took part in a live practice session for a Le Mans Cup round the following year.
Its successor, the H24, featured a completely revamped powertrain with two electric motors (down from four on the LMPH2G) and finished four Le Mans Cup races in 2022.
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The H24 car has been an important testbed for the ACO, which set up a working group that first met in May 2018 with the goal of creating a hydrogen category for the Le Mans 24 Hours. This will take effect from 2026, with Toyota the first manufacturer to reveal a concept car earlier this year.
MissionH24 stated that now it has completed "the essential stages of research, development, verification and burn-in testing" of the hydrogen cell system, tanks, electric motors and battery that its “focus has switched to performance to rival the other forms of energy on the track”.
The new car hailed by Mission H24 co-president Jean-Michel Bouresche as “the next exciting step in our move towards zero-carbon motorsport” is planned to weigh 1300kg, 116kg less than the H24, and produce 320km/h with a stated aim of being among the top entries in the LMGT3 class.
ACO President Pierre Fillon said: “After introducing hydrogen to the racetrack, MissionH24 is now entering a new phase: bringing hydrogen to competitive racing!
“This new prototype clearly intends to rival the other forms of energy in the field.
“Hydrogen technology is safe, reliable and can perform. The ambition is now to provide the first zero-emission winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Source: Autosport